Two-day getaway in Seattle

So, while we were visiting Seattle in June, the husband and I snuck away for a couple nights, leaving lovely daughter to play with her grandparents. We didn't go far--just 8 miles or so to downtown Seattle, but it seemed like we'd traveled across the ocean. Two full days of eating out, lounging in bed, and wandering the streets of Seattle together.

The first night we had dinner at Seattle's famed French restaurant Campagne. We've eaten at their second, less formal restaurant downstairs, Cafe Campagne, a number of times, and we always love the food and the atmosphere. Campagne has been around for a couple of decades. It is situated in a little courtyard down in Pike Place Market. And it has always been lauded for its food and setting. Maybe I just had too many expectations.

To say the least, we were really disappointed; although, our waiter did his best to make our evening special. Without him, the meal would have been not only tasteless, but a complete disaster.

The setting is just not as cozy, in my opinion, as the cafe downstairs. And the night we were there, we were informed that they had a busy weekend and they were out of 3 of the 8 entrees. This seemed shocking. With all the fresh food right there in the market, the chef couldn't come up with something to make up the difference? The cheese we ordered was very old. The wine overly-priced. All-in-all, it was much less of a fine meal than the Cafe, where prices are half as much. We won't be going back.

The next day we ate lunch at a little French bistro not far from Campagne, Le Pichet. Here the food was great. I highly recommend this place for lunch. Little jugs of cold wine, an excellent salad with chicken livers (this was before the we stopped eating meat), great sausage, and crunchy bread. The casual atmosphere and location were perfect for lunch. Oh, I wish I could have lunch there today.

The second night's dinner was at Lark up off of Madison. We first went and had drinks at this cool little place next to the 5th Ave Theater. The place specializes in pre-50s drinks. The atmosphere was a bit strange (I can't remember the name now) but the drinks were interesting. And like a couple of geek academics we poured over their mission statement explaining why they focused on drinks from before the 1950s. The husband had a cocktail made with Pimms No. 1 that was created in the 19th century. We then caught a cab up the hill to Lark where we were seated right away (no reservations are taken, so if they are busy you may have to go next door for a drink at Licorice. But this is an excellent spot as well and we were actually hoping to have to wait!). Dinner was fabulous. This is currently one of my favorite restaurants anywhere, and nothing here in LA/OC can compete. The small plates are all fabulously prepared and a vegetarian has many options between he vegetable and seafood selections. And of course we wrapped it up with their fabulous Chocolate Madelines with chocolate dipping sauce. Afterwards, we walked back down the hill, enjoying the sights and sounds of summer in Seattle.

Sigh.